Screen Time and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Among Children 9-10 Years Old: A Prospective Cohort Study

Jason M Nagata; Jonathan Chu; Gabriel Zamora; Kyle T Ganson; Alexander Testa; Dylan B Jackson; Caitlin R Costello; Stuart B Murray; Fiona C Baker

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.10.023

Screen Time and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Among Children 9-10 Years Old: A Prospective Cohort Study

J Adolesc Health. 2023 Mar;72(3):390-396. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.10.023. Epub 2022 Dec 12.

Authors

Jason M Nagata¹, Jonathan Chu², Gabriel Zamora², Kyle T Ganson³, Alexander Testa⁴, Dylan B Jackson⁵, Caitlin R Costello⁶, Stuart B Murray⁷, Fiona C Baker⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Electronic address: jason.nagata@ucsf.edu.
² Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
³ Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Department of Management, Policy and Community Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas.
⁵ Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
⁸ Center for Health Sciences, SRI International, Menlo Park, California; School of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the prospective associations between baseline screen time and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) at 2-year follow-up in a national (United States) cohort of 9- to 10-year-old children.

Methods: We analyzed prospective cohort data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (n = 9,208). Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the associations between baseline self-reported screen time (exposure) and OCD, based on the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (outcome), at 2-year-follow-up, adjusting for race/ethnicity, sex, household income, parent education, family history of psychopathology, and study site, excluding participants with baseline OCD.

Results: The sample was 48.9% female and racially and ethnically diverse (43.5% non-White). Each additional hour of total screen time was prospectively associated with 1.05 higher odds of OCD at 2-year follow-up (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.09). For specific screen time modalities, each additional hour of playing video games (adjusted odds ratio 1.15, 95% CI 1.03-1.28) and watching videos (adjusted odds ratio 1.11, 95% CI 1.01-1.23) was associated with a subsequent OCD diagnosis.

Conclusion: Video games and watching videos are prospectively associated with new-onset OCD in early adolescents. Future research should examine mechanisms linking these specific screen modalities to OCD development to inform future prevention and intervention efforts.

Keywords: Adolescent; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Screen time; Video; Video game.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Female
Humans
Male
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder* / diagnosis
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder* / epidemiology
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder* / psychology
Prospective Studies
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychopathology
Screen Time*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding